Seeing Spartanburg in a New Light, a project supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, The City of Spartanburg, and Chapman Cultural Center, announces the opening of “Legends of Highland.”
Each exhibit at Highland “Video Village” is projected onto 52 second story windows of the vacant Cammie Clagett housing structures located at 317 Highland Avenue in Spartanburg. Legends of Highland, directed by White Elephant Enterprises, features interviews with 20 local celebrities, including NFL stars Landon Cohen, Stephen Davis and DJ Moore.
The “Legends” offer inspirational advice for neighborhood children, sharing how to overcome obstacles and reach your dreams. The images that accompany the film include photos provided by the Spartanburg County Library System and by personal family collections in the Highland neighborhood.
International light artist Erwin Redl conceived the “Video Village” exhibition space as a way to explore the medium of video with the residents living in the neighborhood. Co-directed by Tim Farrell and Robyn Hussa Farrell, owners of White Elephant Enterprises and Elizabeth Goddard, Executive Director of Spartanburg Art Museum, the Video Village installation has literally taken a village to create and has required partners from all over Spartanburg to come together. White Elephant Enterprises and Spartanburg Art Museum helped train neighborhood residents how to film and edit documentary videos in order to populate the video screens.
Elizabeth Goddard says: “The narratives within this exhibition contribute and celebrate the cultural dialog of Spartanburg. They are capturing our collective imagination while expressing the history of a community that has undergone significant transformation and continues to do so in so many positive ways under the Highland Neighborhood Association and Bethlehem Center leadership.”
Farrell and his wife Robyn Hussa Farrell are co-Founders of White Elephant Enterprises have co-Directed the series of historical films for the exhibit over the last year. Farrell said, “I’m grateful to the more than 20 celebrities from Highland who came together for this powerful video. These are powerful stories that will undoubtedly provide hope and healing to any who experience them.”
Visible to viewers during the evening hours, the videos are programmed to run remotely and at varying sequences through 52 small Raspberry Pi computers. The entire computer system was created from the ground up by Brian Painter, Founder of a local non-profit, Hub-ology, in collaboration with computer science students from USC Upstate and Wofford College.
Mr. Leroy Jeter, President of Highland Neighborhood Association has been directly involved in the planning and implementation process for the last 16 months. “We have had an amazing year sharing our stories, learning how to make videos and collaborating with so many community partners to put this program together,” said Mr. Jeter.
“We are eager to continue to cultivate the positive relationships between neighbors, governing agencies, our police force and other private and public entities to enhance quality of life, elevate the spirit of the community and teach 21st century skills to the Highland community members to enhance their financial success,” says Bethlehem Executive Director, Patrena Mims. “This is a win-win for everyone.”
Highland Video Village runs every evening from 6:30 pm to 10:30 pm at 317 Highland Avenue in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Get involved by following SeeingSpartanburg.com.
This exhibit features over 20 residents from Spartanburg who grew up or worked in the Highland neighborhood and enjoyed successful careers. These celebrities of Highland discuss strategies for overcoming obstacles and offer inspirational advice for the neighborhood’s children, sharing how to overcome obstacles and reach your dreams. The images that accompany the films are photos provided by the Spartanburg County Library System and by personal family collections from the Highland neighborhood.